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Spanning Time: An ode to the former pool at CFJ Park in Johnson City

Gerald Smith, Special to the Press & Sun-Bulletin
Published 8:00 p.m. ET May 15, 2020

In today’s world, the concept of social distancing has taken on new meanings that can save lives. Our days of spending the day at the baseball stadium, attending a concert, or playing basketball with friends for just a few hours may seem like distant memories.

It has not been, however, that long since people enjoyed the outside experience in great numbers, whether it has been shopping in stores, going to family outings, or taking a dip in one of the many municipal swimming pools that abound in Broome County.

Unfortunately, there are fewer residents who remember the wonderful experience of taking that dip in the huge swimming pool that once stood in C. Fred Johnson Park in the Village of Johnson City.

A summer’s day fun in the Bintz pool, about 1940s.(Photo: Broome County Historical Society / Provided photo)

To those who have spoken to me about that experience, it always was with a smile on their faces as the memories came back to bring back a moment in time from many decades ago.

In a moment of complete honesty, I am not a fan of pools — or swimming, for that matter. A couple of childhood incidents left me a bit scarred in that area. Of course, my two daughters were both water rats and took to swimming without a problem. They also went swimming in the pool at MacArthur Park on the south side of Binghamton.

Of course, images of Baby Ruth bars from "Caddyshack" came to mind, but the girls loved swimming.

In 1927, the residents of the community watched with excitement as construction took over much of CFJ Park. The nearby George F. Pavilion would open on Memorial Day of that year — a $75,000 gift of George F. Johnson, the head of Endicott Johnson.

But Johnson’s generosity was not done for that year. No, he donated an additional $80,000 for the construction of a huge above-ground swimming pool on land that was reclaimed from a former brickyard pond.

The demolition of the pool in 1983 as it was finally removed.(Photo: Press archives)

Johnson contracted with the Wesley Bintz Co. to build the pool. Bintz was known for quality concrete pools that would eventually number about 70 pools in 20 states. In Johnson City, Bintz envisioned an enormous ovoid-shaped pool surrounded by a ring of lockers on the ground level and a large deck on the topside of the pool. The pool would even have several levels of diving boards over the water that ranged from a wading area of 2 feet to a depth of 9 feet in the deeper end.

The pool would unofficially open in July 1927, but a major opening occurred a month later, on Aug. 27, 1927.

During that event, Gertrude Ederle was the main attraction. For those who do not recall her name, Ederle was the New Jersey resident who was the first woman to swim across the English Channel and held the free stroke championship among American women swimmers.

On that opening day, the pool was filled with 1.8 million gallons of water heated by the nearby power plant. Thousands would attend the park, and thousands would enjoy the pool — not over the span of hours, but all at once, as the pool could hold 2,000 swimmers. There were 1,500 lockers surrounding the exterior of the pool.

A pastel portrait of Billy Reardon, of Binghamton. He was a later partner of Irene Castle, head greeter at San Moritiz, and a manager of both the Stork Club and the Rainbow Room in New York. Broome County Historical Society / Provided photo

Now imagine that you were one of the many thousands of children who enjoyed the pool those first few summers. Johnson paid for the pool, but swimming in the pool was not free. Oh no, the cost was the huge sum of a dime — that’s it, 10 cents. It was a modest fee that helped to offset the costs of the pool and the park, which was managed by Ralph Hackett.

Over the next half-century, residents continued to enjoy what was called the largest above-ground pool in the eastern United States.

However, the march of time can be a cruel master. In what will be more fully described in a later column, a long and arduous journey in the status of the pool led to a year-long effort to both save the pool and destroy it.

Needless to say, the end of the pool was completely realized in 1983.

What a shame that today’s generation cannot enjoy that pool — a vivid reminder of the generosity of the Johnson family and the largesse of Endicott Johnson.

Gerald Smith is a former Broome County historian. Email him at historysmiths@stny.rr.com.